Plus One Life
by That Writer You Know
Summary: Aradia still isn't dead.
1. Chapter 1

Hello.

I'm going to try and wreck your shit.

_Twyk

 _the semi-mandatory disclaimer: Homestuck doesn't belong to me_

Your name is Aradia Megido and you think you are trapped. The darkness has enveloped you, the final piece of paradox space blown to bits in order to destroy Lord English.

But you might have been destroyed as well. It's not exactly a pleasant experience, and you would've done a much better job than Vriska.

You continue to lament this, since you are trapped, when a pinprick of bright, green light slices through the dark. It surrounds you, and then a harsh white light joins. You recognize something about about them, but also nothing, like something from a stranger similar to a friend.

For a full minute, you are blind. You know it was a full minute because you are a goddess of time. When your vision returns, you aren't sure it really has. The ground is a vibrant green, covered by soft grass. There are trees with sturdy brown trunks and large green leaves. God, there is so much green. You welcome the change from the dark void.

You have only felt the sun on your skin a few times. This sun is different from the hard light of the green sun, instead warm and inviting rather than the start of yet another paradox you had come to both accept and dislike on your "playthrough" of SBURB.

Suddenly, you hear a quiet laugh on the breeze, but you can tell that up close it would be louder and boisterous. You walk through the headwind to find the person who laughed.

When you reach the crest of the hill, you almost spill rust red tears. There is a civilization. The closest you had seen of this was the countless ghosts in Feferi's dream bubbles for three whole years. Those funny little chess dudes run about tin-like buildings, but then you see the glint of an orange and red horn, and you start streaking down the hill, desperate to know who it was, if you knew them in the first place.

It is during this running that you bowl straight into Dave Strider. You stare at eachother in shock at first, and slowly your grin begins to widen.

Your name is Aradia Megido and you know someone.


	2. Chapter 2

Dave is surprised to see you. He jumps back and releases a few swears that you would normally associate with Karkat. Then, his lips purse and he asks, "You're the troll who was in those bubbles, right?"

It _has_ been awhile. He probably doesn't directly remember you. "Yes," you say, for a lack of something better, "I'm Aradia."

Something jogs his thinkpan. "Aradia," he repeats, if only to run it through once more. "Your friends think you're dead."

"They have every right to! Please, take me to them."

He leads the way, and you get to see more of the town. The buildings start to remind you more and more of cans. You wonder who built it, and when. You also wonder how you managed to get there, but you supposed that was another piece of the story.

Dave enters a large can structure, not unlike Sollux's communal hive. You wonder how many floors there are to it, but it also didn't seem too high.

He walks right through the first floor. It seems to be an empty lobby, save for a chess receptionist and a pretty dark haired girl in a light blue shirt and skirt. You lock eyes and know somehow you will be talking to this girl later.

The second floor feels like it should be shaking, with two brands of laughter. One you recognize to be Terezi's. The other, a deeper laugh, barely escapes your attempts to put a name to it.

Terezi notices your presence. Her laughter dies down and a few seconds later she turns the the corner, mouth open for maximum smelling. "Aradia?" She shouts, and you can't help but feel relieved to see your old friend, even if she wasn't the first you'd want.

John follows behind, and you notice the similarity to girl downstairs had to him. She had to to be his dancestor.

You are not allowed to dwell on this for too long because suddenly Terezi is squeezing you. She continues shouting. "Where were you? How'd the fight go?" She stops suddenly. "Where's Vriska?"

You can't answer that yet. You aren't even sure of the answer yourself. "I don't know where Vriska is. Lord English, is dead, and the ultimate weapon created a black hole we were trapped in."

There is a silence. Terezi bows her head. "Oh."

You wonder if she had somehow gotten close to Vriska again. It wasn't unlikely. You aren't sure if you like the idea.

The third floor is quiet, at least until Dave brings her to one of the doors. You can hear playful banter through it, and you try to figure out who it was.

Rose opens the door. "Dave," she says curtly, and then sees you. She scrunches her nose, and then the memory comes back to her. "Aradia?"

Kanaya joins Rose at the the door. "Aradia?"

You smile widely. "Hello!"

Rose tries to figure out how you could be standing in front of her. "Weren't you still in the dream bubbles when we came here? Vriska never showed up afterwards."

You shrug. If you knew how you came here, you would most certainly tell her. Unfortunately, you are reduced to guesswork until later.

The next floor is filled with snippets of conversation. There are several there, from two boys who looked similar to Jade and Dave, to a girl who looked like Rose and a green alien who somehow reminded you of Lord English. You pretend not to notice the way it looked like him.

The two of you walk past slowly, and Dave waves to them. The Rose lookalike waves back full-heartedly, and then gives you a much calmer wave. The green alien waves too, and it― she, by the tone of her voice, whispers to the Rose lookalike, "Do you know who she is?"

Dave leads to to the final floor. There, he opens a door with a key, and sitting on the couch is Karkat. He turns around, smiling. "Good, you're back― Aradia?"

You have heard your name an awful lot today. "Hello, Karkat."

He jumps up. "Shit, Dave, I didn't know we'd have a visitor."

Dave shakes his head. "Neither did I."

You snicker to yourself about the exchange. Karkat invites you to sit down, which you accept. He then starts asking you questions, mostly about how you got to "Can Town". You answer primarily with, "I don't know."

He accepts what he gets out of you. Dave sits next to him, and you feel like you've intruded on time they were going to spend together.

"Perhaps I should explore some more," you say, and stand up to leave. Karkat nearly stops you, but then stops. You leave without creating a fuss.

When you go back down, the lookalikes stop you.

"You're a troll, right?" asks the Rose lookalike.

The Jade lookalike says, "I thought the only trolls were the ones from that meteor."

The Dave lookalike comments, "You're a God Tier?"

You address it in order. "I am indeed a troll. I was in the dream bubbles. And yes, I am God Tier as well. My name is Aradia."

"Oh, what a pretty name. I'm Roxy, and this is Callie, Jake, and Dirk!"

You are starting to feel a bit overwhelmed. How did so many things in your life manage to go so fast?

The John lookalike comes up the stairs and sees you. She gains a wide grin as Roxy says, "And that's Jane!"

You stare Jane down. Roxy introduces you to her for you, which was fine by you.

You continue back down the stairs, and when you finally reach the outside, you find yourself completely at ease.

You can handle this. Can Town was far more peaceful than Alternia or even Earth. Less chaotic and nerve racking than SBURB. You take a deep breath, and smile.

Just as you are done with this pep talk, shouts in a language you can't understand are mixed in with words you can.


End file.
